The Thief's Nurse
by justanoutlaw
Summary: When Robin becomes ill, he is surprised at what a good nurse Regina is.


This was a prompt submitted to me by an anonymous user on Tumblr from a sentence starter post I reblogged:

"I'm not feeling all that great."

I'm taking this as an opportunity to write about the EQ/Wish Robin after they moved to the Enchanted Forest to escape Wish Henry.

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Regina walked into the castle, jewels in hand.

"I have some more we can bring to the village!" She called out.

Sometimes it was still a little weird for her to be giving back in such a way, but with the other Regina's love in her heart, she found herself having compassion for more people. When Robin didn't respond, she raised an eyebrow. Typically, by this time he'd be downstairs, arranging something with their knights. She made her way up to their chambers and found him laying in bed.

"Robin?" Regina asked. "Why are you still in bed?"

She walked over to him, seeing how pale his face was, sweat dripping from his forehead. Suddenly, she felt stupid for asking that question.

"I'm not feeling that great," he admitted. That's how Regina knew it had to be bad. Robin was stubborn. A few weeks ago, he had an arrow get lodged in his arm and he tried to claim he was fine as blood poured from the wound. He had to be very ill.

"Wait right here," was all she said before turning on her heel and disappearing out of the room.

Robin sighed. He felt like he should've known that would be her reaction. While he and Regina did take care of one another, he was sick. She was still this land's queen and couldn't risk getting sick. He had been alone for many years, he'd look after himself just fine. As he was shutting his eyes to attempt to get some sleep, Regina came back into the room, holding a few things. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's all this?"

"Just stay still," she commanded, using the voice he often heard her use with their subjects.

She laid a cool cloth over his forehead and set a glass of water on the nightstand. She held up a spoonful of some green liquid in front of his mouth and he allowed her to feed it to him, before making a face.

"Bloody hell, what was that?" He asked.

"Medicine, it'll help you feel good. I'm not going to use magic, all of it comes with a price."

"I am so confused. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, idiot? I'm taking care of you."

A small smile went across his face. Before he could say anything more, she instructed him to sit up and he complied. She settled a tray onto his lap, which contained a bowl of broth along with some bread.

"I don't know exactly what's wrong, but this would be best for your stomach. Eat it and I'll tell one of the maids to draw you a lukewarm bath."

Robin started to eat as best he could. He still felt pretty weak, but he did admit the broth helped settle his stomach. When Regina returned, she had some loose fitting sleep clothes for him to change into after his bath.

"You know, I never figured you for being such a good nurse," he quipped.

A sad smile played across her lips. "I may be split from my other half, but I still have both our memories. I did all this for Henry whenever he got ill."

He nodded, unsure of what to say to that. Back in the Wish Realm, they had the version she had magicked up after her. They had game planned to make their way to the Enchanted Forest so she wouldn't end up with her head on a stick. He could see the pain in her eyes the first time she came face to face with the fake version of her son. He tried to remind her that wasn't the real Henry, that the other did love her, she had told him so. Even so, it reminded her far too much of what their relationship had been like years ago. It was hard to be away from him, even though she knew he was well taken care of by her other half and Emma.

Robin knew she needed a distraction from it all, so he took hold of her hand. "I appreciate you doing this, taking care of an old thief."

Her sad smile turned to a genuine one as she looked him up and down. She remembered why Henry had sent her to Robin, for her chance at a happy ending. Carefully, she ran her fingers over his cheek. This version of Robin knew what it was like to make many mistakes, to be feared. He knew what it was like to need a do-over, a second chance.

"On second thought, I won't call on the maid. I think I'll draw the bath and help you with it myself."

Robin smiled. "Sounds good." He paused for a minute. "You know what would probably really help me feel better?" He puckered up his lips, which made Regina playfully roll her eyes and shake her head.

"You are so lucky you're handsome," she told him, before giving him a kiss. "Now, finish up your broth. Your bath shouldn't wait very long."

"Yes…milady."

Regina tilted her head, watching him dig in. They were both broken people, but together, they were whole.

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As always, prompts are accepted on my Tumblr accounts: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction!


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